When Southampton’s Band Of Skulls played a sold-out gig at London’s Forum in October 2010, it was a performance befitting a band honed by two years of constant touring, their sun-kissed melodies sweeter than ever, their riffs heavier and dirtier.. “In our minds, our first album [2009's debut album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey] was quite an intimate little record,” says singer/guitarist Russell Marsden from behind his trademark bug-eye shades, “But it turned into this huge rock thing in venues across the world.”

Late in 2010, faced with the prospect of beginning work on their as-yet untitled second album, they stole away to a remote studio in rural Norfolk with nothing but each other, their instruments and some strong red wine for company. “It seemed like a good way of decompressing everything that had happened to us, all the adventures we’d had, but it was like a big, dramatic therapy session,” says Marsden. “It was desolate, lonely and bitterly cold. We were on our own in a room playing the same four chords at each other.” After weeks of isolation, heavy snow started falling. “We all had a massive panic attack about getting snowed in and so we bolted,” says Marsden. “It was like a prison break.”

January brought a new perspective and a new location – the trio returned to the cradle of their first album, their home studio in Southampton. “It’s a tiny little room, but there’s something about it,” says the drummer. ”If you can make something sound good in there, it’ll sound good anywhere.”

The creative juices soon started flowing, and the three songwriters – Marsden, Hayward and Richardson – were collaborating more fully than ever before. Scraps of melodies, lyrics and riffs fell into place, and complete songs began to emerge: the slow-burning album opener Sweet Sour, rockers Lies and The Devil Takes Care Of His Own. The results were designed for bigger crowds. “We wanted to write material that’s primed for where we’d got to,” says Marsden. “Beefier songs for bigger stages.”

By the time they reached Rockfield, the legendary residential studio in Wales, the band were primed to road-test the new material, playing a handful of US dates in a break from the album sessions. The response was electrifying: at the Beachside Festival in San Diego, one over-zealous fan rocked out so hard during new track You’re Not Pretty But You’ve Got It Going On he was Tasered by the police. “I guess he was having too much of a good time,” shrugs Richardson. “It felt like a real moment”.